Tuesday, January 5, 2016

1876

Warning: While I try to keep these posts as spoiler free as possible, when discussing the later books in a series, it is difficult to avoid spoiling details of the earlier ones, (though with Narratives of Empire you will probably get more spoilers from a passable knowledge of American history).


In our continuing journey through Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire brings us to 1876, the third published and the third chronologically.  This is much more of a direct sequel to Burr than Lincoln was and bridges the gap between Burr and the first book published, Washington D.C.  (You could consider Narratives of Empire in publication order as two trilogies, with the misfit Lincoln between them.  Anyway, enough discussion of the series, on to the book!


While Gore Vidal's cynical eye generally portrays an America that is probably more true than I would like, his coverage of the year 1876, what he calls "probably the low point in our republic's history" is particularly painful.  Grant is another historical figure I found interesting, I read his memoirs and enjoyed them, but there is a reason that they end at the end of the civil war and don't continue into his political career.

I generally try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but the character of Grant in this book gets very little wiggle room around his corruption and the problems in his administration.  This book could easily have been entirely about Grant's administration like a dark mirror to Lincoln but instead the author has tried to give us a slightly wider view of what is going on, which has its pluses and minuses.

Our narrator from Burr returns, now an appropriately old man.  As an interesting choice, Vidal makes him quite the unreliable narrator.  He ignores signs that are right in front of him and has difficulty remembering things.  In an interesting case of parallelism, the corruption of the United States is matched by the corruption in the narrator's brain.  His self-delusion and absent-mindedness perhaps match the country's delusion that, at that point in history,  America was still a great nation.

Overall, I would give this book an 89%.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Lincoln

Warning: While I try to keep these posts as spoiler free as possible, when discussing the later books in a series, it is difficult to avoid spoiling details of the earlier ones, (though with Narratives of Empire you will probably get more spoilers from a passable knowledge of American history).

Lincoln is the second book of Narratives of Empire chronologically but the  4th published.  It is far and away the least related to the rest of the series, only a couple reoccurring characters from Burr and the introduction of a few characters that play significantly larger roles in later volumes even merit it admission into the series.  If you were solely interested in the plot of the saga, this would be the volume to skip.  But why would you?



Even if you aren't a completionist like me, anyone who would enjoy the rest of the series would definitely enjoy this book.  Its loving look at Lincoln from those around him is a total contrast to the frustrated look at Jefferson in Burr and is a delight to read.  Of course, it doesn't go easy on him, I'm not sure Gore Vidal is capable is going easy on anyone, but you can tell had great respect and regard for Lincoln.
The book has only one viewpoint from Lincoln and all the rest are from the people around him, with his secretary John Hay as one of the most frequent (due in large part to the fact that Hay's autobiography was one of the major sources for the book).  I am not sure I have ever read a book quite like it with all the viewpoints focused on a single person without hearing from them directly, it has the interesting effect of making you feel like you are orbiting some celestial object and observing it from all sides.

The book is also an interesting take on the Civil War as it goes through Lincoln's presidency and a little beyond, however it rarely shows any of the battles.  The reader learns about them as Lincoln does, from messengers and telegrams.  "Atlanta is ours and fairly won" has a stronger resonance when you don't see Sherman take the city and are waiting nervously at the White House with the president.

This book is historical fiction and thus has some inaccuracies though what and how much were hotly debated by Gore Vidal.  While it isn't perfect, it definitely is an entertaining read and a welcome addition to any history nerd's bookshelf.

Overall, I would give this book a 92%